jay-z
Interview: Phil The Thrill
Check out my full interview with Phil below.
Hey Phil, what’s up? How’s it going?
Phil The Thrill: Good, good, good.
I’ve just been reading about Steve Jobs. Man, that’s terrible.
Phil The Thrill: Crazy, crazy. I mean, they knew it was gonna happen eventually, but it was just all of a sudden it seems like.
Yeah… ah, the man’s a genius. So I hear you’re 22 years old and from Newport News, Virginia, is that correct?
Phil The Thrill: Yessir.
Actually, where have I heard of that place from? Is that…Michael Vick’s hometown?
Phil The Thrill: Yeah, yeah. Michael Vick, Allen Iverson.
Oh, okay. How’s the music scene there?
Phil The Thrill: It’s… pretty scattered. This area is known as Hampton Roads, the 757. I’m not sure how familiar you are with this part of Virginia but Missy‘s from here, Timbaland‘s from here, Pharrell‘s from here,The Clipse are from here. So yeah, we have a pretty crazy rich tradition as far as music goes. It just seems like they’ll move away and you know, it’s hard to really get them back to reach out to artists that are coming up now. But as far as tradition goes, we’re definitely on the map when it comes to music, period. And then 45 minutes up the road is where Trey Songz and Chris Brown are from.
Man, that’s nice.
Phil The Thrill: Yeah, man, it’s crazy.
So where did your rapper name, Phil The Thrill, originate?
Phil The Thrill: It’s actually been a name that’s stuck with me. It’s actually been my nickname since I was around twelve years old. I was an athlete playing basketball and football and you know, when little nicknames happen to you when you’re a kid… they’d just be like “Oh, Phil The Thrill!” It sticks and through high school, when everyone would have AIM screennames, I was like lemme use my nickname. It stuck with me then and when I went on to play college basketball, it stuck with me there. So it became my Twitter name and once it sticks, I’m not going to try to change that just because I’m doing music. It’s my nickname and what people know me as. (more…)
Malkovich – “Palms” [MP3 + Video]
If you’ve been ‘watching the throne’ lately, you’ll know that hip-hop’s best have been putting out some grandiose tracks. Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s video for “Otis (feat. Otis Redding)” certainly cemented that in our heads, with the two veterans trashing a $350,000 Maybach and having some good-natured fun.
Malkovich flips this all in his new video for “Palms”, a track dedicated to the L.A. neighborhood of the same name and his home for eight years. The very same place where Snoop Dogg caught his murder case many years back. That Palms.
MP3: Malkovich Music – “Palms”
Featuring the local residents, the homeless, and even a US flag mural (in reference to “Otis”), “Palms” is a deep, reflective ode for the working class with an old-school vibe. You can check out the music video below.
Listen: J. Cole – “Mr. Nice Watch (feat. Jay-Z)”
Well, would you look at that. J. Cole followed through on yesterday’s Twitter promise and just dropped the most anticipated track from his new album Cole World: A Sideline Story. “Mr. Nice Watch” features none other than Cole’s mentor and hip hop legend Jay-Z.
MP3: J. Cole – “Mr. Nice Watch (feat. Jay-Z)”
For a song that includes Cole’s first obligatory Hova feature, this isn’t entirely what I expected and is nowhere near what I had hoped for. Instead of a introspective mentor-protege track between the two, we get straight-up braggadocio over a grimy, electronic beat (produced by J. Cole himself). At least we get to hear Hov go in.
Cole World: The Sideline Story, Cole’s debut album, will drop on September 27, 2011 via Roc Nation/Columbia. Check out the tracklisting after the break.
Cole World: The Sideline Story Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Dollar And A Dream III
03. Can’t Get Enough (feat. Trey Songz)
04. Lights Please
05. Interlude
06. Sideline Story
07. Mr. Nice Watch (feat. Jay-Z)
08. Cole World
09. In the Morning (feat. Drake)
10. Lost Ones
11. Nobody’s Perfect (feat. Missy Elliott)
12. Never Told (prod. No I.D.)
13. Rise & Shine
14. God’s Gift
15. Breakdown
16. Cheer Up
17. Nothing Lasts Forever [Bonus]
18. Work Out [Bonus]
19. Daddy’s Little Girl [Bonus]
Video: Common – “Ghetto Dreams (feat. Nas)”
Director Matt Alonzo gives Common‘s “Ghetto Dreams (feat. Nas)” the video treatment, releasing the official video earlier today. One of my favorite collaborations this year that doesn’t involve Kanye West or Jay-Z, this track has me really excited for Common’s The Dreamer, The Believer, out November 22. The black-and-white clip above really does the song justice, depicting the street life and ambitions of the two rappers. Bria Myles stars, as does Rick Ross‘s beard. You can purchase “Ghetto Dreams” on iTunes now.
First Impressions: Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne
Watch The Throne, probably one of the most hyped-up releases in quite a long time, has finally arrived. The work of rap superstars Jay-Z and Kanye West, the album reportedly took nine months and three attempts to create and fine-tune. Does it live up the hype? Is it the newest classic?
We decided to post our track-by-track impressions as each of us listened to the album for the first time. As we each finish, this post will be updated with our individual opinions. Right now, you can check out three sets of first impressions below. More to come soon!
Watch The Throne Snippets
A little less than three hours to go until the release of Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s collaborative album Watch The Throne arrives exclusively via iTunes. If you’re as excited as we are, you can help pass the time by checking out some song snippets below. The two trailers for the album, which reveal very little but are still pretty interesting to watch, can also be seen below.
Kanye West and Jay-Z Announce Tour Dates
In preparation for the release of Watch The Throne, Kanye West and Jay-Z have announced that the two have formed a duo called The Throne and will be embarking on a massive North American tour together this fall.
Kanye and Jay-Z also announced that Watch the Throne will be released on iTunes on August 8th. The album will then be available on other physical and digital retailers on August 12th.
The tracklisting and full tour dates are available below. You can listen to “Otis” here.
Listen: Kanye West & Jay-Z – “Otis”
Since “H.A.M.” is now only a bonus track on Kanye West and Jay-Z and’sWatch The Throne, our first official taste of the new album is “Otis”. The song just made its debut, thanks to Hot 97′s Funkmaster Flex. Featuring a sample of Otis Redding‘s “Try a Little Tenderness”, “Otis” features the two rap superstars dropping one-liner after one-liner over a soulful Kanye beat. Wild.
MP3: Kanye West & Jay-Z – “Otis”
Watch the Throne will be released online on August 1st and physically on August 5th. Check out the tracklisting after the break.
Watch: Kanye West and Jay-Z Perform in NYC
On Tuesday, Kanye West and Jay-Z performed at NYC’s MOMA. The two are currently working on their joint album Watch the Throne, out sometime this year via Def Jam Recordings.
You can see the performance below, courtesy of NYClout.
12 Good Looking Album Artworks (Post-2000)
Album artwork made its first appearance in 1938, when Alex Steinweiss introduced artwork over the previously, plainly labeled covers. This “invention” provided every album with its own unique identity and images that fans could associate their music with. When we think of an album, the first thing that often comes to mind is the cover; it’s become a peripheral of music that no album, EP, or single can do without, remaining with us even in the digital format.
The following twelve album artworks are not ranked in any particular order.
Fall Out Boy – Infinity On High
The flying sheep and dream-like atmosphere are this cover’s best features. The artwork has depth and gives you plenty to look at, especially the various contrasts that coexist (moon/wall and crow/wall with light and dark values, closet interior/wall with temperature values). The artwork just has a unique dream feel.
Brand New – Deja Entendu
I have no idea why the astronaut is there, but this cover just looks, to put it simply, cool. Contrasting temperatures result in an odd feel that absolutely fits Brand New’s distinct rock sound. This feel is further expressed by the textures of the water and sky.
Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
No stairs here to reflect the album title, but the cover looks fantastic nonetheless. The multi-hued red, green and blue colored strips of paper being layered have great visual texture and the fact that no two strips share the same tone (more or less) gives this cover a lot of interest.
Radiohead – In Rainbows
This pop art styled cover designed by Stanley Donwood, who has done every Radiohead artwork since 1994, looks like something created digitally when in fact it (surprisingly) isn’t. It features a galaxy photograph layered with paint and interesting type that looks simple and fits Radiohead’s style of experimental music. The variety of color also serves to reflect the album title itself.
MGMT – Congratulations
‘Psychedelic’ just about sums up this cover. Odd colors, an i-don’t-know-what’s-going-on scene, and the cartoony style makes the cover seem like it’s something you’d see in a weird dream or trip (drugs are bad for you, kids).
Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
Clean cover, with something other than the generic rapper’s face or body photograph. From a distance, the red bars have strong dominance and clearly indicate the cover is of the 3rd installation of Jay-Z’s ‘Blueprint’ records. Closer up you notice the objects piled up which adds complexity and depth.
Delphic – Acolyte
The artwork is absolutely amazing. Great photo-manipulation of the band members and the smoke they fade into. It’s something you definitely won’t mind looking at on your ipod.The background may be a tad simple when the complex photomanip is placed on top, but the Delphic typeface works to ease the combination.
Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light
Beautiful photograph with vibrant colors, giving insight to what the music itself is like. Nothing really much to say, just a wonderful looking cover.
The Killers – Hot Fuss
Smoooth. A soft blue dominates the cover (plus hints of red), and gives off a fuzzy, mellow feel. The Killers’ logo typeface fits well too, although I’m not sure I can say the same for the buildings lining the bottom…
Kanye West – Graduation
The cartoon style of this artwork by Takashi Murakami is great and the colors are extremely eye-catching. The illustration features West in a teddy-bear form (known as “Dropout Bear”, referencing an earlier record) being shot out of a colorful, vectorized who-knows-what. This is one creative rap album cover that sets it apart from nearly every other.
Passion Pit – Manners
Green paint, white text. What else do you really need?
Pendulum – Immersion
The feel of this cover is great. This artwork by Polish artist Valp is mysterious and just seems to fit the sound of Immersion. The colors are great, using a majority of cool green and blue while adding hints of warmer purple and red to increase interest. There is just so much going on here that some may not notice all the subtle elements of the art from a quick glance or from their music player screens.
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